


Missing You

by ardentaislinn



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Angst, Because I am clearly broken by that ep, Captain Cobra - Freeform, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-15
Updated: 2014-04-15
Packaged: 2018-01-19 12:26:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 866
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1469782
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ardentaislinn/pseuds/ardentaislinn
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Henry confronts Killian about why he isn't around so much anymore.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Missing You

Killian strode down Main Street, attempting to get to the docks quickly before anyone he knew saw him. Apparently he wasn’t quite fast enough, because someone called his name from behind him. Killian stopped, recognising Henry’s voice. He desperately wished he could avoid the boy to prevent the reminder of his current torment, but he knew he’d done that enough lately. And Henry deserved better than an outright snub.

The younger male caught up. “Killian, I…,” he stopped, and Killian noticed the tension in the boy’s face and shoulders. He was upset, and maybe a little nervous. Killian certainly couldn’t brush him off now.

“I was just on my way to the docks, if you’d like to join me.”

Henry nodded, and they set off in silence. Henry seemed lost in his own thoughts and Killian allowed him the time to process. He’d been doing a lot of that himself, lately.

Eventually they reached the water’s edge. The two of them stood, side by side, watching the boats bob in the ripples that floated across the water.

“What’s bothering you?” he asked Henry.

“Did I do something wrong?” the boy blurted out. Killian frowned, looking over at him.

“Of course not! Why would you say that?”

“You don’t come around much anymore. Mum says she doesn’t know why, either, so I thought maybe I said or did something that…,” Henry stopped and took a deep breath as he turned his face away. Killian felt his heart constrict. Damn Zelena. This curse of hers was causing everyone pain.

He gently put his arm around the boy, and tugged him close. “Henry, it has absolutely nothing to do with you. I promise.”

“Oh,” he said, looking up at him. Killian could see the remnants of tears in his eyes. “Then, was it mum? Because she sometimes gets like this when she’s scared and she has feelings for a guy. I’ve seen it before. I promise if you’re patient she’ll come around. She does really like you, I swear.”

Killian briefly squeezed his eyes shut at the agony the words were inflicting on him, trying to deny their power.

“I’m happy to hear that. More than you know. But I promise that the only reason I haven’t seen you as much is because I have some circumstances of my own to deal with. It isn’t anything that either of you have done.”

Henry brightened. “Then maybe we can help. Mum is great at figuring out problems. And I make really good plans.” The lad’s eyes were shining with hope and Killian could feel pieces of his soul crumbling. He wanted this beyond anything. He wanted to be a team. A _family_. And he had to turn it all away.

“As much as I’d like that, I can’t. This is something that I must solve on my own. For now. It’s easier if I keep my distance while I do.” He shrugged, helpless to explain to this memoryless version of the lad. The instant Henry’s face changed, Killian knew he had said the wrong thing.

Henry’s face fell, and the tears sprang back into his eyes. “So you’re just going to leave us? Just like everyone else has done?” Henry’s voice was growing louder, and he stepped away from Killian and hunched in on himself. “I mean, Dad abandoned my mum and she never recovered. She’s hardly let anyone close that I know about. There was Walsh, but he’s gone and I don’t know why. I really thought you were different. That you were better. That you wanted to be with us. But now she let you into our lives and you are going to leave her and she’s _hurting_ and it is All. Your. Fault.”

Killian felt his own tears brewing. He had no idea how to handle this. Nothing Henry was saying was a lie, but Killian couldn’t even defend himself without revealing the existence of magic to the boy and betraying Emma’s trust.

“Henry,” he pleaded, placing his hand on the boy’s shoulder and squeezing it in an attempt to offer comfort. “I understand that you are upset right now. But I promise you on everything that is precious to me that I will solve this problem and be a part of your lives again. Just like I was. I care about you both too much to do anything less.”

Henry sniffed. “You promise?”

“Yes, I promise.”

Henry cleared his throat and scuffed his shoes against the concrete. “Mum misses you a lot.”

Killian rather suspected it wasn’t (only) Emma that was missing him and his heart swelled. He gave Henry a half smile, still aching too much for his usual grin.

“I miss you both, too. I’ll try to see you more. But until this issue is resolved it might be less frequently than either of us would like.”

Henry searched his face and apparently found it sincere, because he nodded and smiled. Killian pulled him in for a quick, fierce hug, before letting him go and directing them back towards town.

He couldn’t help but wonder why he had just committed himself to even more heartache. He rather thought he had enough of that already.


End file.
